Tanzania 2009

Train the Trainers Programme

Jackie Younger and Kate Woodhead travelled to Arusha in Tanzania in September this year and taught 9 senior nurses how to train others in order to sustain good practice in their hospitals. Having had presentations on the theory and practice of teaching others, each of the nurses did a micro teaching session and set action plans for the future. Each hospital outlined a future teaching session that they planned to deliver to their colleagues, these included:

·Implementing a Perioperative checklist.

·Learning good communication skills

·The opportunity to plan a lesson and teach the class

·I developed skills and knowledge which I will go to teach my colleagues

·The subject was very enjoyable because it build me with great knowledge and skills on good way of making presentations with confidence and systematic way

·I will teach my colleagues skills and knowledge because I have gain confidence and I know how to do it. No more worry during teaching sessions

Kate and Jackie also attended the opening ceremony of the East, Central and Southern African (ECSA) Health Community Annual Conference that was taking place in Arusha. They met the Health Minister of Tanzania, Chief Nurses from several countries across the Health Community and Kate also gave a presentation at the conference on 'Safe Surgery Saves Lives' and the role of Friends of African Nursing in supporting perioperative nurses across Africa.

In addition, we visited Mount Meru Hospital in Arusha. They currently have 381 nursing vacancies in a hospital that receives 100-150 in- patient admissions per day. One nurse usually looks after 20 patients, they have very limited resources and they had no teaching materials or books in the operating room. We aim to send them some books in the near future.